Evangeline Lilly

Levelheaded and unimpressed with stardom, Evangeline Lilly rose to overnight fame as Kate Austen on the television phenomenon, "Lost" (ABC, 2004-2010). An unlikely actress to begin with - she cared mo...
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It's been 11 years since Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 went down on that crazy polar bear-inhabited tropical island. Believe it or not, it's been 5 incredibly long years since one of the most talked about shows on television, Lost, left us for good. In a fit of nostalgia between sessions of binge re-watching the series, we've decided to take a look at the audition tapes of some of the stars of the show. Take a look at them below and imagine a world where Jorge Garcia plays Sawyer instead of Josh Holloway.
Jorge Garcia
While you may initially cringe when you see Garcia, who fans of the show have come to know only as the beloved character Hurley, embody Sawyer, but this audition is just a testament to the actor's range. He brought out a whole new side to the character audiences had never imagined simply from watching the character Holloway created on the show, but we're still really glad he became Hurley instead of Sawyer. Something tells us we just wouldn't love that Weezer album as much as we do if it had been called Sawyer.
Matthew Fox
If you thought you were going to cringe while watching Jorge Garcia's Sawyer audition, brace yourself. Watching Matthew Fox audition for the roles of Sawyer and Jack back to back makes it abundantly clear that he's the sort of person who was simply born to play Jack. He would have made an awful Sawyer, don't you think?
Josh Holloway
Okay, we're not going to make you cringe anymore, we promise. Even though we're pretty sure this clip shows Holloway auditioning for the role of Charlie (hence questions of what he's going to do when he runs out [of heroin] and his saying "mate"), but it's clear as can be that he'd make a perfect Sawyer. Something about the hair, facial stubble, those dimples on the maniacal smirk...he reminds us of Jack Nicholson a bit here. He's the perfect balance evil and charming that makes us hate/love him like we do Sawyer.
Evangeline Lilly
Personally, we'd never really liked Jack (at all), so we're a little distracted while we watch this audition as the dialogue reveals he was originally supposed to die. We probably would've enjoyed the show just a bit more. Focusing on the actual audition and performance of Evangeline Lilly, it's no surprise she landed the role of Kate. She pretty much did everything we've come to expect from Kate emotionally right there in less than 3 minutes. Bravo!
Naveen Andrews
Wow, so... we have chills. Andrews completely crushed this. We can't imagine anyone else coming in with a better audition than that, nor could we imagine anyone else as Sayid. Why is he not in, like, every movie?
Dominic Monaghan
It's bizarre to see our favorite character, Charlie, uttering Sawyer's lines. We're having a hard time believing that a face as adorable as his could have possibly been the moody and brooding bad guy on the show. Even the way he begins, with his "hey," is just too lovable to pass for Sawyer. Thankfully, the casting directors got this one right, and Monaghan graced our small screens with the unforgettable cries of "You all everybody!"
Emilie de Ravin
While first watching this audition, we were underwhelmed. We thought de Ravin was cute and likable, but we were unsure of what the casting directors saw in her that cemented her as Claire. Before we knew it, we were so engrossed in her story and her acting in a way we hadn't been for any of the other auditions, and we realized. Whatever de Ravin has, it's magical.
Malcolm David Kelley
Kelley's facial expressions throughout this audition are just TOO adorable! No wonder he got the role. He had to be a cute kid learning how to play a game. Job done (and done very well).
Harold Perrineau
Did they even need to make him audition? From the first moment the audition starts, we're sold. He is Michael. This could be one of the best castings of the bunch, regardless of personal feelings about the character.
Yunjin Kim
Initially auditioning for Kate, Yunjin Kim wowed so much in her audition that they created the role of Sun Kwon (and her husband Jin) specifically for her. Once they created Sun, Kim felt that the character was too submissive and rejected it until series creator J.J. Abrams convinced her to take the part. While we think she would have been an adequate Kate, we're even more pleased with her decision to accept the role of Sun.
Ian Somerhalder
Somerhalder's facial expression at the 1:00 mark is a career-maker if we've ever seen one. It's no wonder there are so many teenage girls freaking out over this gorgeous pair of eyebrows, and, even though we can't understand anything he says once he bites that granola bar, we're sure nobody could have done a better job with this audition than he did.
Maggie Grace
Give props where props are due, and Maggie Grace kind of crushed that audition. Though most people probably didn't like her character, Shannon, she did a really great job of emotionally conveying the less-than-likable character's emotions, even in the audition.

Actress Evangeline Lilly would tuck in to human flesh to survive in a wilderness as she finds it impossible to cope with extreme hunger. The Lost star is a big food lover and admits she was "ashamed" of herself when she spent three weeks trekking in the Philippines as a teenager and "scoffed like a pig".
However, she is also adamant severe hunger is one of the most difficult hardships to endure and insists most humans would turn to cannibalism if it was necessary to survive.
Lilly tells Britain's Observer Food Monthly, "Ravenous hunger consumes you. I do find it odd when people say they wouldn't eat human flesh if stranded. Of course they would."

Actress Evangeline Lilly has cast doubt on ever marrying her longterm partner because she doesn't believe in "forever promises".
The Hobbit star has been dating former Lost production assistant Norman Kali since 2010 and they are parents to a three-year-old son named Kahekili.
She recently revealed they have been trying desperately to expand their family through adoption, but despite her commitment to their long-term future, she admits she has no interest in making their relationship official by exchanging vows. The 35 year old tells America's Ocean Drive magazine, "Every other 16-year-old girl wanted to look at bridal magazines; I could not have been more bored with the notion.
"I have an American son and an American partner, so marriage might logistically make sense at one point. My partner is a stay-at-home father, so if he wants to be on my health plan, or taxwise, or maybe on paper we want to have our I's dotted and our T's crossed, but emotionally neither of us really feels the need for it.
"We love each other today, and we hope we'll love each other tomorrow. In my world, I don't believe in forever promises. I don't think it's realistic."

Actress Evangeline Lilly has opened up about her struggle to adopt a child, revealing she has been "through the wringer" as she attempts to expand her family.
The Lost star and her production assistant partner Norman Kali are parents to a three-year-old son named Kahekili, and the actress had hoped to adopt a sibling for him, but the process has proven very difficult.
She tells America's Ocean Drive magazine,"What I wanted originally was six kids. I frickin' love being pregnant. I'm one of the lucky women who just had a blissful pregnancy, but I wanted to adopt four... My partner and I have really been through the wringer in the adoption world and it's hard, so we'll see what happens."

Maybe it's because we've been struggling to find one man to love us, let alone two, or maybe it's because it reduces pretty awesome female characters to a girl who can't decide which boy she loves, but we've grown a pretty tired of the love triangle trope saturating so many TV shows and movies. It seems like vampires are only ever happy if they're competing for a girl (and, of course, they simply must be vampires). Are there really no other ways to complicate a love story?
1. Sookie/Eric/Bill (True Blood)
HBO
Sookie, waitress (who spends shockingly little time actually waiting tables) and faerie, loves vampire Bill Compton. She is "his," which is some pseudo-romantic vampire way of possessing a woman like an object, and along comes douchey bad-haired vampire Eric. She hates Eric at first, but then he cuts his hair and gets amnesia, forgetting he's actually a jerk, and they fall in love. And then the two vampires compete over her for, like, ever. After this whole love triangle (a square, if you consider her relationship with werewolf Alcide) ordeal fades, she ends the series with a rando who we don't meet. Umm, cool? At least we had some steamy moments of threesome fantasies.
2. Olivia/Jake/Fitz (Scandal)
ABC
Is anyone into Olivia and Fitz anymore? We're not really sure there would be a show without this love triangle though, because Pope &amp; Prez need to be lovers torn apart, and, what with the First Lady generally approving of their relationship (and engaging in extramarital affairs of her own), something needs to keep them apart. Enter Jake, secret agent man. We like Olivia Pope best when she's wearing Burberry trenches and "handling" situations like nobody else can. We tolerate her love life (although we do cherish the non-booty calls and her standing up for herself).
3. Jack/Kate/Sawyer (Lost)
ABC
We're not sure if we'll ever fully understand what happened on Lost, but we do know that the episodes weren't nearly as entertaining when they focused on this love triangle. Wasn't there enough going on here without this overplayed scenario?
4. Bella/Jacob/Edward (The Twilight Saga)
Summit Entertainment
As much as we tried to bury our head in the sand and avoid this book/film series, the cursed Team Edward/Team Jacob drama found a way to perpetually enter our lives. Its ubiquity alone is enough to grow tired of. As far as we're concerned, if we didn't like the vampire-werewolf-human triangle on True Blood (okay, Sookie isn't human, but you get it), we're certainly not going to enjoy one where the vampire sparkles.
5. Rory/Dean/Jess (Gilmore Girls)
The WB
This is the love triangle we understand the most of all of these. No, not just because both Dean and Jess are irresistible and pretty unconditional in their affection for the perfect Rory Gilmore, but because Dean was sort of the first boy she had ever noticed. She started dating him, things were going smoothly, and then Jess came along. Understandably, when a bad boy who loves reading comes along, swooning is inevitable. Dean was a good first boyfriend, a bit too needy for our taste, and Jess made a huge mistake by, you know, leaving town while still dating Rory and not even saying anything, but we understood where she was coming from, at least. That still didn't make it enjoyable to watch Dean peacock and proclaim Stars Hollow as "his town."
6. Jack/Elizabeth/Will (Pirates of the Caribbean)
Walt Disney Pictures
Come on, Elizabeth! You can't just throw away your relationship every time Johnny Depp looks damn cute in a costume. You will never have a healthy love life that way.
7. Meredith/Derek/Addison (Grey's Anatomy)
ABC
It's always a grey area when a TV show makes you ship a relationship between a married man and his mistress, and that's exactly what happened here. We liked Derek and Meredith with the complications they already faced - a one night stand that turned into the pair working at the same hospital (and the accusations that she was sleeping her way to the top). When Addison came back into the picture, it just annoyingly kept apart two characters we knew should be together.
8. Serena/Nate/Dan (Gossip Girl)
The CW
The relationships on Gossip Girl mostly played like a square dance's exchange of partners, and we never liked Nate and Serena together (even though, goodness gracious, they were a gorgeous-looking couple) because he was her BFF's boyfriend. What happened to girl code, S? (To be fair, Blair then went for Lonely Boy despite his former relationship with Serena). Eventually, this show's only relationship we rooted for was strangely Chuck and Blair.
9. Katniss/Peeta/Gale (The Hunger Games)
Lionsgate via Everett Collection
This one never seemed like much of a love triangle to us. As we read the book, and even in the first movie, we sort of felt like, "Gale who?" It was always Peeta. Katniss and Gale's relationship was strictly platonic, despite Hemsworth's hunkiness. His attractiveness is all he has going for him, and it's squandered by his jealousy. Peeta, on the other hand, is cute, caring, maybe a little needy, but we dig it. The real attraction to the movies/books lies in the revolution though (which is greatly motivated by Katniss' desire to rescue Peeta, further proof of his superiority).
10. Buffy/Angel/Spike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
The WB
Seriously, what is it about vampire relationships that leads to love triangles? This is a little ridiculous. Buffy and Angel are perfect beyond words, a modern supernatural Romeo and Juliet plagued not by sparring families, but by an ancient curse, and Spike had vampire impotence and made a Buffy-bot. Really? We liked Buffy and Spike's banter, but the romance between the two always felt a bit wrong to us (and even Spike didn't believe her when she said she loved him).
11. Ross/Rachel/Joey (Friends)
NBC
Why. Did. This. Happen. Ross and Rachel, the annoyingly on-again, off-again, "we-were-on-a-break" couple everyone shipped throughout the 90s, were each other's lobsters. Joey, the show's resident Casanova, suddenly falls in love with her, even though she has Ross' baby? Whose decision was that?

"I liked Betty and Veronica... I just really liked their boobs; I was obsessed with the shape of their breasts. I would draw them, I would try and trace them. I was, like, fanatical about the perfection of the teardrop shape." Actress Evangeline Lilly was a big fan of Archie Comics characters Betty and Veronica's breasts.

"I was kinda having a p**sing contest with Orlando Bloom and I was like, 'I'm gonna have the biggest ears in Middle Earth' and they were beautiful. They gave me three options; they gave me a small, a medium and a large, and I said, 'I want the big ones'." Evangeline Lilly fought for the biggest elf ears in The Hobbit films.

Actress Evangeline Lilly pocketed a precious rune stone from the set of The Hobbit and told director Peter Jackson she had lost it on a beach. The actress plays woodland elf Tauriel in the final two films in the trilogy and she was desperate to take home a keepsake to remind her of her time on set.
She decided to pinch a black moon rune stone used in the film when no one was looking, and then concocted an elaborate excuse to convince her angry director that she had lost it.
Lilly tells The Sunday Times Style Magazine, "I pretended to drop it on a stony beach, and we looked and looked for it - but really I had slipped it into my pocket. Peter was not pleased."

"I do love it. I think I like Thanksgiving better than Christmas. I like being thankful more that giving and receiving." Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly is a big fan of America's Thanksgiving holiday.

"I hope for children... I tell the story as if I'm reading to little children; I'm very animated and I wear costumes and it's a crowd of Lost fans." Actress Evangeline Lilly can't escape her TV show past now that she's a children's author.

Summary

Levelheaded and unimpressed with stardom, Evangeline Lilly rose to overnight fame as Kate Austen on the television phenomenon, "Lost" (ABC, 2004-2010). An unlikely actress to begin with - she cared more about humanitarian work and only pursued modeling and acting to pay her college tuition - the Canadian Lilly leveraged her TV superstardom into small roles in important films like the Oscar-winning "The Hurt Locker" (2009) and enjoyed the freedom to pursue her own writing and charitable interests. Fans of the socially-conscious globetrotter applauded her commitment to an active, engaged life off camera - including a longtime relationship with "Lost" co-star Dominic Monaghan - but also hoped she would find time to work in the occasional acting role, as the actress remained a charismatic onscreen presence.

Met in 2004 while filming the ABC series "Lost"; Made first public appearance as a couple in 2005; Split in 2007, following Monaghan's departure from "Lost"; Couple reportedly reunited in 2008; Split in 2009

Education

Name

University of British Columbia

Notes

Lilly founded (and ran) a world development and human rights committee at the University of British Columbia.

"She's amazing. Stepping into the lead of a show with no experience? Her poise and confidence are remarkable." – "Lost" co-star Matthew Fox on Lilly Rolling Stone magazine, October 2005

"Hang on tight. The first year I felt like I was on one of those kicking-bull machines and you're just hanging on for life, hoping you don't get spit out the other side with a broken neck and six limbs missing – even if we only have four." – Lilly on how to survive a hit show like "Lost," to Los Angeles magazine, April 2006

"Hollywood is the Sodom and Gomorrah of today. It's a world I avoid because it's destroying our culture." – Lilly to U.K. Glamour, August 2006